How to use srcset for responsive images?
Jul 12, 2025 am 12:50 AMThe key to implementing responsive images in srcset is to understand the syntax and browser selection mechanism. 1. Basic structure: Provide multiple image versions through srcset, and use w descriptors to indicate the width, such as 320w and 480w; 2. Use sizes attribute to define the display size of the image under different screen widths, such as 100vw and 50vw; 3. Use x descriptors to provide high-definition images for high-resolution screens, such as 1x and 2x; 4. The actual suggestions include manually or tools to generate multi-size images, avoiding too many options affecting performance, and setting the alt attribute to ensure accessibility.
It is actually not difficult to use srcset
to implement responsive images. The key is to understand its syntax and how the browser chooses the right image resource.

1. Basic structure: Tell the browser what pictures are available
The core of srcset
is to provide multiple image versions, allowing the browser to automatically select the most suitable image based on the device's pixel density or viewport width. The basic writing method is as follows:
<img src="/static/imghw/default1.png" data-src="image.jpg" class="lazy" srcset="image-320w.jpg 320w, image-480w.jpg 480w, image-800w.jpg 800w" sizes="..." alt="Responsive image">
Each image is followed by a width descriptor (such as 320w
), telling the browser how many pixels the width of this image is. Note that the unit is lowercase w
, not px.

2. Cooperate with sizes attribute: defines the actual size of the image displayed on the page
sizes
is a partner of srcset
, which tells the browser how big the image will be at different screen widths. It is a combination of a set of media queries and size values, with the format:
sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, (max-width: 900px) 50vw, 33vw"
This code means:

- When the screen width is less than or equal to 600px, the image takes up the entire viewport width (100vw)
- Between 601px and 900px, the image takes up half the width (50vw)
- After exceeding 900px, the image accounts for one-third of its width (33vw)
With this information, the browser can select the most suitable picture based on factors such as device pixel ratio and viewport size.
3. Use x descriptor to deal with high resolution screens
In addition to the w descriptor, you can also use x
descriptor to provide higher-definition pictures for screens with different pixel densities:
srcset="image.jpg 1x, image-2x.jpg 2x"
This writing method is suitable for icons or pictures displayed in small sizes, such as avatars, buttons, etc. But note that this method does not take into account the viewport width, and only selects the picture based on the device pixel ratio.
4. Practical suggestions: How to prepare picture resources?
Before using srcset
, you need to prepare pictures of multiple sizes. Can:
- Manually crop compression, or
- Automatically generate using build tools (such as Webpack, Gulp)
- Or dynamically generate different sizes with cloud services (such as Cloudinary, Imgix)
The recommended method is to prepare pictures for common breakpoints, such as 320px, 768px, 1024px, 1440px, etc. At the same time, be careful not to provide too many options to avoid affecting load performance.
In addition, don't forget to set the alt
attribute to ensure barrier-free access.
Basically that's it. Mastering the combination of srcset
and sizes
can make the pictures clear and without wasting bandwidth on various devices.
The above is the detailed content of How to use srcset for responsive images?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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